Will James Murdoch replace Elon Musk as Tesla chairman?

Tesla and Musk reached a settlement with U.S. Securities and Exchange regulators last month in which they agreed to pay $20 million each to financial regulators.

Outgoing Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. CEO James Murdoch is the lead candidate to replace Elon Musk as Tesla Inc. chairman, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing two people briefed on the discussions.

Tesla and Musk reached a settlement with U.S. Securities and Exchange regulators last month in which they agreed to pay $20 million each to financial regulators and that the billionaire would step down as chairman but remain as CEO.

Murdoch, who is a non-executive director of Tesla, had signaled he wants the job, the report said.

The son of Fox mogul Rupert Murdoch, he joined Tesla’s board last year after years of work with media companies. He has never led an automotive company.